Improvement in hydrostatic elevators



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`combined with a smaller piston or and each guide-frame i it, so that as the plunger, Snc. This iNrrnD STATES PATENT Grrrcr.

HENRY FLAI), OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRCSTATIC ELEVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,663, dated January 20, 1874 application filed May 23, 1873. y

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY FLAD, of St. Missouri, have invented an `Improvement in Hydrostatic Ele- `vators, of which the following is a specification:

The rst part of my improvement relates to what I denominate a multiplier.77 This consists of a compound ram, having a larger piston plunger, workin g in separate cylinders or chambers, by which the water or other liquid acted on by "the smaller piston is placed under greater lpressure than that of the water acting on the `larger piston, by which the smaller piston is actuated in proportion to -the relative face areas of the two pistons. The chamber in which thesmaller piston or plunger plays is in communication with the c'flinder of the hoisting-raimwhich is secured to the elevator-platform. The. cylinder of the latter ram. and the chamber in communication with it may be filled with oil, glycerine, or other liquid.

'The second part of my improvement relates to the means employed to stiifen and guide the platform-plun ger. These guides consist of crucial frames, which slide freely on the plunger, and the ends of whose arms carry antifriction rollers, rtmning on spindles at the corners of the trunk` in which the platform travels. The

upper guide-frame isjsupported by rods depending from the upper platform, and sliding in vertical sockets in the frame, and having at the lower ends heads, on which l,the frame is suspended and raised with the platform after the latter has traveled up a certain distance; in its tin-n is picked up by rods` depending from the frame next above platform is elevated and a greater length of the plunger becomes exposed above the stuffing-box of the cylinder, it shallV have side support at different elevations by means lof the guideframes; Vand as the platform descends, the guide-frames will, one at a time, settle down upon the top of the stuflingbox or other support beneath the platform when in its lowest position.

The third part of my invention relates to the means employed to balance the platform, consists of a rope, which extends from the platform, and is attached to g. The cylinder a drum, to which is secureda grooved fusee pulley, that has fastened to it a rope,which coils thereon, and to the free end of which is attached a weight to partly counterbalance the platform, plunger, and guides. The arrangement is such that as the platform and plunger ascend, and theguides are one after another taken up, thus adding to the weight suspended by the platform rope, the counterbalance weight shall uncoil from the fusee, commencing from the smaller end, so that as the platform rises and the counterbalance-weight descends the latter shall exert an increasing rotating iniiuence on the drum, equivalent to the increasing weight of platform attachments. It will be seen that as` the counterbalance-weight descends its point of suspension on the fusee is more distant fromthe axis."

In the drawings, `Figures 1 and 2 are axial sections atright angles to each other.

A is the cylinder of a hydrostatic ram, having water-supply and` discharge pipe a, that communicates with the wastepipe a", and ,also with a pipe, a, in communication with the city water-supply, or other supply of water under pressure. The pipe a is supplied with a three-way cock, b', or other well-known device, worked by a hand-rod, B, so as to put the lower end of the cylinder A in communication with either the cause t-he ascent or descent of the platform, -or to close connection between the cylinder and both pipes, so `as to hold the "platformstationary. b is a counter-balance 4to rod B. Gis the plunger, having a head, c, packed at the periphery, and working in the cylinder A, which has at the upper end an air-oriiice, c, to allow the passage of air to and from the part of the cylinder above the piston-head c. The body of the plunger works througha head,l), in leather or other packingd, working up and down in a chamber or cylinder, E, which is in communication by a pipe,`f, with the cylinder F of the hoisting-ram. G1 istheplunger, at-

ing in the cylinderF through a stuffing-box, F would usually enter the earth a considerable distance,as `it andthe plunger would necessarily have a length about equal to the distance traveled by the platform. The plunger G may be tubular, inmwhich case supply` or waste pipe, to-

-F. Where the iicientl y the bottom would be closed. The cylinders E and F may contain oil, glycerine, water, or other suitable liquid, as the quantity should be constant, and, except for leakage, would be unchanged. e is a force-pump, by which liquid may loe forced into the chamber E to make up for leakage. The weight of the platform and plunger' and the guides of the latter is partly counterbalanced by a weight, I, attached to a rope, z', whose other end is secured to end of a grooved fusee-pulley, K. The fusee is attached to a drum, L, on which is coiled, and

to which is secured, the rope-l, one end of the rope being secured to the drum and the other end to the platform at h. The rope may run over a grooved pulley interposed between the platform andthe drum, so as to keep its descending part vertical, the drum being located some distance from the pulley; or the verticality of the descending part of the rope may be accomplished in any well-known manner. Apreponderance of weight has, of course, to remain on the side of the platform, to drive the fluid out of the cylinder F in descending, when a multiplier is used. Depending from the platform-bottom are rods M, passing through the arms n of a crucial fiame, N, through whose butt or center passes the plunger G, the frame N sliding freely on the the plunger, and being raised by the platform (after the latter'has traveled up from its lowest position a certain distance, the length of the rods M) by the heads m of the rods coming in. contact with the bottom of the frame. The arms ai of the frames N carry at their ends anti-friction rollers 0,Wl1ich travel up and down vertical guides O, that may occupy the corners of the trunk in which the platform travels. Depending from that guide-frame N next to the platform are rods M, which pass through a second frame, N, similar to that describet, and from this is supported another simila1 guideframe, and so on, if the height renders it necessary to comes exposed more and more from its cylinder pressure of the water is sufgreat, the multiplier A C c E may be dispensed with, and the ram G operated directly from the water-supply. There the pressure of the supply water is insufcient to operate the ram Gby direct action upon it, the piston-head c must have an area so much the larger rods M andv stiften the plunger G as it begreater than the sectional area of the body C as to give the required pressure on the liquid in the chamber E and cylinder F to raise the platform and load. The plunger or column G would, of comse, have sufficient strength to sustain the platform in case of the breakage of the rope Z or i, and so long as this column itself' is not destroyed, no breakage of other parts of the machinery would have dangerous results, because the rate of descent of the platform would be limited by the rate of outflow of the water from the cylinder A or F, as the case mi ght be. In the efflux-pipe may be introduced a conical check-valve, whose opening is reduced by increased pressure, so as to let the load down easily and without danger in case one of the ropes carrying the counterweight or platform should be broken While the load is descending'. By providing a smallelcvated tank, into which the water would be forced in lowering loads, the platform by itself', or even with the addition of a light load, may be raised Without the use of any fresh supply of water, and consequently without any cost. In this case the Water-supply cock or valve b used over and over again, as long as the de- 'scending loads are heavy and the ascending loads light.

I claim as my invention- 1. The multiplier consisting of a larger pis ton, c, and a smaller piston or plunger, C, connected together and working in separate cylinders or4 water-chambers A E, by which the pressure of the water or other liquid acted on by the smaller piston is rendered greater than that of the liquid acting on the larger piston, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the elevator-platform H, ram G F, and multiplier A C c E, substantially as set forth.

3. vThe guides plunger or set forth.

4. The combination of the ram G, platform H, guides N, ropes Z and i, fusee K, and weight I, substantiallyy :s set forth.

.. HENRY FLAI).

N, in combination with the ram G, arranged substantially as SAML. KNIGHT,

l Vitnesses:

WALTER RATT.

may be closed, and the same water may be- 

